What tent to buy?

[Blue]

Alright, obviously my little 3 season 2 person backpacker tent wont cut it. So what kind of tent can you recommend to me.

What I want:

large enough to situp in

ability to cook food inside of it using a small propane stove(or at least inside the vestibule)

can withstand 60mph winds

not take too much room on a pack horse(or do you just sling the canvas tents over the horse?)

big enough for 2 people will suffice

1 person can set it up alone

I've seen the tents outfitters use, but would think those are too big. Do they make those in a smaller version? And can you cook in them, or do they come with a large vestibule? Would I have to cut down trees for poles? Would I have room for the tent, plus my gear, on the pack horse? I don't know where to start. So pointers are appreciated. Little backpacker tents are just too small to be comfortable in for a week at a time. I live in Denver, so any ideas of a place to go look at these would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[1_pointer]

I don't have the money for one of these, nor have I used one, but the Tipi's by Kifaru sound like they might fit what you need. You can even get them with a stove!!! You can check them out at www.kifaru.net

 

[Leanwolf]

Blue, you've already got half the battle won... living in Denver.

Go down to 2228 Blake Street, there in Denver, to the Colorado Tent Company. They are an old line tent company with whom I've dealt with complete satisfaction and know their products to be top-o'-the-line.

Ask them your questions and have them show you some of their various sized tents. You won't be sorry.

Best of luck. L.W.

 

[Bear Creek Adventures]

Blue,

First of all, welcome to Moosie's! Glad to have you here.

Regarding your post........... aw, so many questions, and so few answers....... JK

I agree with 1 pointer on the teepee tent. One of my tents is a 10x10 teepee with 3 foot side walls. I use this as a sleeping tent and it sleeps three people easily (with cots). I would say that it would confortably fit one or two people and allow space for cooking also. It is very easy to set up, all you have to do is throw a rope over a branch and hoist up the center of the tent, stake down the corners and maybe use some small sticks on the side walls.

As far as wall tents, they make them almost any size down to about an 8'x8'. My preference is wall tents and one person can set them up, but it is more difficult and would require cutting poles to set them up.

As far as weight a horse can carry, you should be able to get everything you need for one or two persons for a week on one horse. Of course that depends on the size of the horse, how elaborate a camp you are going to set up and how many days you will be in the woods. It sounds like you are an experienced back packer, so you should not have a problem getting what you need on one horse. My typical base camp consists of 12-14 packhorse loads of gear, but that is a pretty fancy camp that will accomodate about a dozen people.

I would recomend a "sheepherder's stove" for heating the tent and even cooking. There is nothing better than sitting in your warm tent, with a fire in the stove while watching it snow outside. Plus, if you get wet hunting, you can warm up and dry your clothes at night.

American Tent in Denver is who I deal with on wall tents. They have given me the best deal of anyone I have investigated and have consistently provided good quality equipment.

Also, as far as packing the horses, Elkie and Roper and I put together a web site on horse packing that may be of interest to you. Unfortunately, I lost the address, but maybe Elkie can post it??

Good luck to you and don't forget to post some stories and pics!!

 

[Westman]

Good advice above from people that have alot more experience than I, but just for another option look at Reliable Tent in Montana.

They have been having a sale through October. Probably would do the same prices now.

We bought an internal frame tent just so we could set it up in country with no trees like antelope areas. The frame might be too much for one horse though.

They have a website,. A google search with their name will get you there.


Bill

 

[Elkhunter]

Bear, you were reading my mind.

Blue, the page BCA was referring to is The Basics Of Packing With Horses & Mules
http://horse_packing.tripod.com/

Bear, maybe we could do one for this subject also. Just a thought.

 

[Delw]

Hey thats a cool site you guys put together...


Delw

 

[Blue]

That is a good sight. Thanks for the input guys. Getting ready for next season. Going for cow this weekend, hopefully it will turn out better than my first hunt. I use a saddle pannier. Under $100 compared to over $300 for the crossbuck. It turned out to work really well, even though it could have been a little bigger. It's funny when you pack everything up and it's not as heavy as you thought, but bulky as hell.

 

[snite66]

Hey Blue,

I don't have any real experience with these types of tents either, but came across a site that might interest you. They have several different types of tents and other things you may need.
http://www.wyomingtent.com/shop/enter.html

 

[mtnboy]

If you can afford the luxury of a bush caddy packin' your gear, this type of tent might cramp your style too much...

It sleeps 2, has 2 vestibules (1 for gear, 1 for cooking) and it's the bomb shelter of tents - it's kept me smilin' in the Himilayas at -13'F temps and winds up to 40mph. Rolls to about 1/2 size of sleeping bag, weighs about 8 lbs...

Good luck with your elk!

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 01 November 2001 22:01: Message edited by: mtnboy ]</font>

 

[Bear Creek Adventures]

Mtnboy,

Great picture and welcome to Moosie's!

Elkie, lets do it!! A page on tents, camp equipment, stoves might be helpfull to some.

 

[roper]

can I play too???

 

[Bear Creek Adventures]

Heya Roper, long time no see!! Let's do it!! I'll write the text, you set up your tents and take the pictures!!

 

[tmsander]

Blue,
Since you live in Denver, as do I, you might also want to check out Davis Tent and Awning. Don't know if they are any better or worse than all the other suggestions, but they have done alright by me. They are also big supporters of the RMEF, which is a plus in my book. Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[Elkhunter]

Of course you can play Roper. I am game for it if you two are.

 

[Muledeer4me]

Hey ,are you guys working on this?
You all did such a good job on the packing one.
Hope you do more. It would be a good follow up on the packing.

 

[Bear Creek Adventures]

HOW BOUT IT ROPER????

 

[roper]

Sounds fun to me but i'd like to wait...i've got a new p.c. on it's way but it won't be here till the first week of december. Don't want to be halfway thru something and have to start over...
Roper

 

[Elkhunter]

Roper, that will be fine. You and Bear send me the stuff and it will be done.

 

[Kraven]

You might check out Reliable tents and tipis as mentioned abouv.I have 2 tents from these people,they are good tents but dont go cheap.I would reccomend going with the quality.Also I have heard excellent things about Montana Canvas and also The Colorado Tent Co.My buddy has used these when he guided in Montana.I am not sure on the type of stove you would like.I use the Cylinder stoves they might be alittle heavy but they do make 4 different models and one might work for you.That Reliable Tent company in Montana is going to be having a sale this winter so you might want to check them out.Good Luck to ya on your search and hope this helps ya out.
www.cylinderstoves.com
www.reliabletent.com

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ November 26, 2001 13:44: Message edited by: Kraven ]</font>